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All-round India conduct clinical demolition in Trinidad
India clinched the ODI series against West Indies 2-1, after a clinical rout at the Brian Lara Cricket Ground in Trinidad. After West Indies won the toss and asked India to bat, the visitors posted a massive total of 351 on the board, and only gave away 151 runs, clinching a 200-run win in the 36th over of the attempted run-chase.
With the series on the line, India went in without veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and were asked to bat by the hosts. The visitors posted a massive 351/5 in 50 overs, courtesy a stunning show by the top and middle order on a true wicket in Trinidad.
Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill started shakily, with the former having a catch dropped and another falling short of Mayers early on. Shubman Gill played a few streaky shots too, and through the innings, survived a few run-out chances due to poor communication. However, the two cut loose soon enough and scored swiftly getting to their fifties at quicker than a run-a-ball. Eventually, with the score at 143, it was Cariah who deceived Kishan with the flight, getting him stumped. Gaikwad followed soon after, edging a straightener from Joseph to the cordon.
With Samson then launching an all-out assault, Shubman Gill took the backseat. The young batter burst into attack mode and got to his fifty off 39 deliveries, but fell soon after, chipping one from Shepherd to mid-off. Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya rebuilt with a 49-ball stand for 65 runs, and despite the loss of SKY, Pandya took charge of the slog overs and ensured 42 runs came off 19 balls, helping India get past the 350-run mark.
West Indies’ chase began with disaster. Mukesh Kumar wasted no time in getting rid of Brandon King, caught behind for a duck, and knocked over the stumps of Kyle Mayers soon after. The ever-dependable Shai Hope was snapped up by the young fast bowler too, reducing West Indies to 17-3 – a nightmare start given the circumstance, chasing 352 in a series decider.
Jaydev Unadkat got rid of Carty, one of the heroes of the last match, before Shardul Thakur snaffled up the important wickets of Shimron Hetmyer and Romario Shepherd, to send West Indies into a free fall at 50-6. Yannic Cariah and Alick Athanaze were just beginning to show some resistance, when Kuldeep Yadav knocked over the former, and soon after, had Cariah strapped in front to bring the score down to 88-8.
Just when the hosts were looking at an embarrassing sub-100 total in response to 351, Alzarri Joseph and Gudakesh Motie showed the kind of resistance that needed to be shown higher up the order, playing proper cricketing shots and putting on 55 for the ninth wicket in just short of 10 overs. It was never going to last, however, as Shardul had Joseph late on a hook, getting him to nick off to Kishan.
There was some controversy, as Kuldeep Yadav appealed against Jayden Seales, who was given out caught by the umpire, and the decision was reviewed by West Indies. As there was no bat, the catch was given not out. While checking for the LBW, however, the ball was shown to be hitting the stumps, but the impact showed umpire’s call. As the on-field umpire hadn’t given it LBW, the umpire’s call for LBW was technically “not out”, and Seales was given not out.
However, it wasn’t a high-stakes controversy for India, as Shardul Thakur knocked over Seales’ stumps for good measure, picking up his fourth wicket and sealing a 200-run victory for India. Shubman Gill was adjudged the man of the match for his 85.
This win seals the series 2-1 in favour of India, as the teams move on to the five-match T20 series to be played between August 3 and 13, 2023.
Brief scores:
India 351/5 in 50 overs (Shubman Gill 85, Ishan Kishan 77, Hardik Pandya 70*, Romario Shepherd 2-73) beat West Indies 151-10 in 35.3overs (Gudakesh Motie 39*, Alick Athanaze 32, Shadul Thakur 4-37, Mukesh Kumar 3-30) by 200 runs
Two people taking part in Australia’s annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race have died in separate incidents, according to police.
Both crew members died in separate incidents after being hit by a boom – the large pole attached horizontally to the bottom of a sail.
The event’s organisers said the incidents happened on the Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline.
The first boats are expected to arrive in the city of Hobart, in Tasmania, later on Friday or early on Saturday. Several have already retired due to bad weather.
New South Wales (NSW) police said the first incident was reported to officers just before midnight on Thursday local time (12:50 GMT) by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in the country’s capital, Canberra.
Just over two hours later, at 02:15 on Friday, NSW police were told that crew aboard the second boat were giving CPR to the second person, which also had not worked.
Flying Fish Arctos had been sailing approximately 30 nautical miles east/south-east of the NSW town of Ulladulla, the organisers said.
Bowline, meanwhile, was approximately 30 nautical miles east/north-east of the town of Batemans Bay, also in NSW.
“Our thoughts are with the crews, family and friends of the deceased,” the organisers said in a statement.
“The Sydney to Hobart is an Australian tradition, and it is heart-breaking that two lives have been lost at what should be a time of joy,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The race, which began on Thursday, has continued.
It is not the first time there have been fatalities during the race, which was first held in 1945.
Six people, including British Olympic yachtsman Glyn Charles, died in 1998 after raging storms hit competitors.
[BBC]
Deepti Sharma turned in a superb all-round performance to help India seal the ODI series 3-0 in Vadodara. She first took 6 for 31 as West Indies folded for 162. Then with India in choppy waters, Deepti provided a calming influence with an unbeaten 39 to the team home by five wickets.
While Deepti dug in for the hard grind, aided with luck when she was dropped by Hayley Matthews at slip on 21, Richa Ghosh lent the finishing touches. Having walked in to bat with India 129 for 5, Ghosh allayed fears of a collapse by hitting one four and three sixes in her brisk 11-ball 23. This included back-to-back sixes off legspinner Afy Fletcher to see off India’s chase.
Under leaden skies, and on a surface that got progressively tougher to bat on with the odd ball keeping low and turning big, West Indies were left to rue another poor batting performance. Barring Chinelle Henry and Shemaine Campbelle, who put together 91 for the fourth wicket, there was little else of note from the batting unit.
The collapse began in the very first over when Renuka Singh removed Qiana Joseph, with a faint tickle down leg, and the in-form Matthews with a superb in-ducker four balls later. When Deandra Dottin was bowled attempting a hack into the leg side to Renuka, the visitors were 9 for 3 in the fifth over. Renuka with finish with a four-for eventually, coming back later to clean up the lower order amid the Deepti show.
Under the shadow of a collapse, Henry, playing her first ODI of the series, rebuilt the innings. She struggled to get bat to ball early on, pottering to 3 off 17. Then from nowhere, she brought out a release shot for six off debutant left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar to get going.
During the course of her third half-century, Henry played some neat little cuts and glides. At the other end, Campbelle showed positivity against spin. She took the attack early to legspinner Priya Mishra, hitting her for three boundaries in her second over. After using her feet to launch into two stunning drives – one down the ground and the other through cover – she rocked back to pull Mishra for a third as she dropped short.
This 91-run stand for the fourth wicket appeared to have revived the visitors as much as it frustrated India. This is when Deepti came into the game and made a telling contribution.
Campbell was consumed by a rush of blood as she was lulled into the big shot by Deepti, only for Pratika Rawal to take a comfortable catch at long-on. In the following over, Zaida James was caught superbly at slip by Harmanpreet as Deepti had her driving from the rough.
It could’ve been a triple-strike for India but for Renuka dropping the simplest of return catches via a leading edge to reprieve Aaliya Alleyne on 0. Alleyne would make only 21, though, falling to a tame chip to short midwicket. Alleyne’s wicket came hot on the heels of Henry’s dismissal for a third ODI half-century when she was out bowled by a straighter one. West Indies went on to lose their last 5 wickets for 21.
India’s reply began in nervous fashion as they lost Smriti Mandhana and Harleen Deol early in the power play against the moving ball. Pratika Rawal too missed out on a great opportunity to build on a solid foundation from her first two ODIs when she holed out to mid-on in an attempt to hit out against Matthews’ offspin.
India captain Harmanpreet then picked the pieces up and put together a fantastic exhibition of cover driving. Having begun with two fours off her first five deliveries, she went on to pierce a packed off-side ring to hit Dottin for three fours in the ninth over to quickly take to 23 off 13.
Harmanpreet looked in rip-roaring form when she played back to be bowled by a skidder from Afy Fletcher. The wicket briefly galvanised the visitors, but India weren’t to be denied as Deepti, Jemimah Rodrigues and Ghosh all played neat hands to see them home.
Brief scores:
India Women 167 for 5 in 28.2 overs (Deepti Sharma 39*, Harmanpreet Kaur 32, Jemmimah Rodrigues 29, Richa Ghosh 23*) beat West Indies Women 162 in 38.5 overs (Chinnel Henry 61, Shemaine Campbelle 46, Aaliyah /alleine 21; Deepti Sharma 6-31, Renuka Singh 4-29) by five wickets
[Cricinfo]
Australia kept their vice-like grip around the MCG Test despite a fighting effort from Yashasvi Jaiswal as India went to stumps at 164 for 5, trailing the hosts by 310 runs. Scott Boland and Pat Cummins made that possible after Steve Smith scored his 11th Test century against India – the most by any batter against this opposition in the format.
Jaiswal shrugged off his four ordinary outings in Adelaide and Brisbane to get stuck into the Australian bowlers on Day 2 to carve out a fine essay. He was proactive with his feet movement against the pacers and negotiated Nathan Lyon with a lot of comfort in favourable batting conditions. He went after Mitchell Marsh too, setting himself up for a three-figure score. Kohli did well to buckle down and offer judgment to balls on the fifth stump channel as the Aussie quicks repeatedly tempted him to play at it with a populated slip cordon on their toes. Kohli, who was seen simulating this situation with Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna in the nets on the eve of the game, successfully let balls go. With edges not carrying either, the pacers bowled straighter at him that allowed Kohli to get his innings going with flicks and pulls.
But in the final hour of the day, a few minutes of indecisiveness saw both the batters back in the dressing room. First, Jaiswal fell for 82 to a run out after driving one to mid-on and dashing off for a single. Kohli wasn’t keen and stood his ground, leading to Jaiswal’s dismissal. Seven balls later, Kohli bit the bullet and edged a ball from Scott Boland – the kind he’d let go for majority of the session – to depart for 36. Boland dug his heels in further, dismissing nightwatchman Akash Deep and leaving India five down.
The home side’s advantage at the close of play on the second day was built on Steve Smith’s outstanding century in the morning. Smith overcame a mini-battle against Jasprit Bumrah and took runs off Deep at the other end to extend his team’s dominance that was well-established by the top-order on the opening day. Smith had several false shots against Deep but none came with the doom of his dismissal for him. He further rubbed it in by picking runs easily as Deep conceded 30 in his five-over spell. The change bowlers couldn’t stop the runs either as Siraj endured a forgettable outing with figures of 0 for 122 in 23 overs.
Smith and Cummins added quick runs in the first hour before Jadeja ended the Australian captain’s stay on 49. Smith however, got to his 34th Test hundred, fifth at the MCG, and shifted gears after to take on both Jadeja and Washington Sundar. Mitchell Starc didn’t hold back either, even hitting Jasprit Bumrah for a six towards the end of the session. The Lunch break came as respite for a misfiring India, who then struck early in the second session. Jadeja cleaned up Starc and Deep removed Smith with some luck – the centurion danced down for a big shot through the off-side, but the ball ricocheted off his leg and rolled on to dislodge one bail as he watched on. Bumrah wrapped up the innings soon but India’s riposte was once again found wanting.
Rohit Sharma opened the innings again but was swiftly sent back by his opposite number when he tried and failed to play a pull shot off a ball that wasn’t quite short. KL Rahul and Jaiswal started to build a stand but Cummins put the lid on that with an incredible ball that straightened off a length, squaring up and cleaning up Rahul at the stroke of Tea.
The difference between a fighting response and an underwhelming one for India was the health of the Kohli-Jaiswal stand, which promised to lead the way before being broken against the run of play. India lost three wickets for the addition of just six runs in this period, letting Australia maintain complete control of the game.
Brief scores:
India 164/5 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 82; Pat Cummins 2-57, Scott Boland 2-24) trail Australia 474 (Steve Smith 140, Marnus Labuschagne 72; Jasprit Bumrah 4-99) by 310 runs
[Cricbuzz]
Two die in Sydney to Hobart yacht race
Deepti’s all-round heroics hand India series sweep
Australia maintain full control despite Jaiswal’s 82
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